What a lot of Americans fail to realise is how heavily dependent their "cheap lifestyle" depends on the menial jobs being done at $5.50 an hour (thats £2.75 pounds) which is slave labour rates. Why is Dubya bucking the right wing nuts over illegal immigrants - hes supporting his rich chums lifestyle by keeping them fed with cheap manpower. If all the illegals vanished - the first to complain about the rocketing prices would be the same right wing nutjobs who wanted shot of the cheap labour pool....
Personally I would love for the US to build our own stuff, pay our own people, grow our own food, and make our own energy so that we could pull out the contrived global economy that spawns much of that messing with other governments. But that ain't likely to happen any time soon. In reference to the subsidies mentioned, I would like for the government to get out of our economy and let the free market take care of itself. Back on track Tulatin, no I don't nitpick and stick directly to every law on the books. And when I get busted, I say "man that was stupid" pay the price and go on. Nobody was crying for me when I got tickited for not getting my car tags renewed. Why shouldn't there be a great outcry for me? I was trying to take care of my family instead of pay taxes on my vehicle.
I bet you'd be crying if they took the car from you. Especially if you hadn't been driving it on the roads, but kept it safe in your garage.
I think it's time that Godwins Law was updated for the new Century. "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of the Iraq War being mentioned approaches one."
Oh please. He lived here for 11 years, never learned to speak English, and never even bothered to try and apply for citizenship? Yeah it sucks that he's losing his money but he could have spent some of that 59k to get himself an education, maybe go to a trade school or some such, get a real job, become a real citizen and improve his life. Instead he washed dishes for 11 years, never made an attempt to learn English or go to school, never paid a penny of taxes, and eventually got caught by INS when he tried to bring 59k CASH through customs and he's surprised that they questioned him? Please, gimme a f'n break. I don't entirely agree with how he's being treated, but he screwed up and never even made an attempt to improve himself or better his own situation. Ultimately, it was all his responsibility to take care of himself. How?? The guy broke the law and paid the price. He had 11 years to work everything out and he didn't even try. Are you saying that it's wrong that he worked tax free and illegally for 11 years and got caught? Any American citizen doing that would get caught by the IRS eventually and also face the consequences. The article just tries to paint this whole thing as big bad America stomping on the dreams of the little guy. If he had applied for citizenship or a workers visa he could have stayed in the country and continued to work legitimately and he would have been able to keep his money. If he had gotten an education and learned a trade he would have made 10x as much money, and don't tell me it would have been too hard for him, he friggin saved up 59k doing the same job for 11 god damn years. Wanna know how I know this? I used to work at a pool company. The construction guys were all Mexican and Polish. They had workers visas (or whatever they are called) and they worked their ASSES off during the construction season. They probably made 50k per season because they did it the right way, spoke English, learned a well-paying trade, and obeyed immigration laws. They would save their money or send it back to their families and in the winter they would go back to their families in Mexico and live like kings. Stories like this seriously piss me off. Should I feel sympathetic for the subject of the article? Yes, and I do. It sucks. I understand that he worked hard and had a hard time with customs and American law. However, there is a degree of personal responsibility that he had on himself and he failed to live up to that. If he had made a concerted effort to obey the laws, learn the language, try to get a visa or citizenship, maybe my opinion would be different. The American dream isn't "come to America and you get super rich and live happily ever after!" The American dream is "come to America and you will have the opportunity to do all these things that you man not be able to do in your home country."
At least Hitler had a cool moustache. On-topic, I'd wish they had done to the guy what they would do in my "home" country: calculate the taxes you owe, plus a fine, take that from the money and give him the rest. Even in the ol' country they realise that if you worked for it for years, you're going to be fairly heart-broken if they take everything. I mean, at least he worked for a living, though be it illegally. Better than immigrants who, both in Europe and North America, go "legal" and leech of the benefit/welfare system. (Also, lol at 2 dollars for a pound.)
I made this connection also. I was going to write something long about how the we shouldn't treat people differently just because they're from another country; "Hey look, this guy is a poor south american. Let's make some laws to prevent anyone like him ever having any wealth!" But likening the American mentatility to Nazism is so much easier. Thankyou.
i agree until "american" is substituted with the effect Bush administrations swing to the right has had on the US - what I find really disturbing regarding this case is the attempted blackmail by the us government.
And take care of himself he did. He earned his own money by working hard, and never relied on public services once. All he wanted was to save some money and better things for his family. If only everybody had that work ethic. You may accuse others of saying ignorant things, but I think it is you who is not quite getting the picture. Being illegal, this man has obviously tried to keep a low profile. That means no going to school and learning English. No applying for a visa or citizenship (I mean, are you for real? Even UK business people running a profitable business in the US employing US employees, can't get a US visa. What makes you think Mr. Menial Wetback can?) You may slate his lack of "self-improvement" but this is a menial, uneducated worker coming from a poor-ass country who only knows how to work long shifts and keep his head down so he doesn't get put across the border again. Americans with more breaks than him have achieved less than he has. Which would be tax and a fine. Not confiscation of all his worldly goods. I suspect these builders have desirable skills. I suspect they have brains too. Not everybody is that smart or capable or desired. This is not to dismiss your point... ...but my point is that he is treated unfairly by the law. The law states that he should be taxed and fined or imprisoned. That's all. But to take everything from him is exploitative and wrong. "Give me your tired, your poor, your hungry..." I guess some people just buy into the American dream. Suckers don't realise that mostly, they are just the stardust that Americans' dreams are made of.
I don't really get that. I think the American dream has been blown so far out of proportion that most Americans don't even have a chance. The whole notion of the tired masses converging on the shores of America to live wonderful lives is certainly a romantic one, but it has never been true. Even since before the Statue of Liberty was erected, the American dream was largely false. The Irish were fed stories of easy, rich lives. Just meet old Grady at the boarding house and he'll find you a job. Some have argued that this guy never made use of any public services, so he should not have had to pay for them. Over in the gun-in-schools debate, we were arguing about society vs. individualism, and how no man is an island unto himself. In my opinion, it doesn't matter if this guy never used a road, or never saw a doctor, or never called the police. He lived in this society (legal or not, doesn't really matter), so it was his civic duty to help pay for the services for everyone. We face a similar dilemma from American citizens all the time. Nobody wants to pay local and city taxes. They don't have kids in school, so why should they have to pay? Of course, all the time they're wondering why the youth of today isn't getting a proper education. Then, suddenly their children start school and they realize that their kids are using outdated textbooks and have inadequate supplies. Suddenly, they start demanding more money for the school. Everyone pays. If he's here illegally, then tax him for his earnings and deport him. If he wants to continue working, let him get the proper documents. -monkey
He didn't pay any taxes on his earnings. He lived in the US for years and didn't bother to learn English or the law of the land he was living in (IE. should have known he had to declare that money and pay taxes). Then he turns up at the airport and is surprised to get in trouble. It was his own fault and got off lightly. If I did that, I would be in a world of trouble. I have lived in a couple of countries where English is not the main language and I took the trouble to learn the local language, pay taxes, and be aware of the local laws.
I do agree here. They should just give him his money back, minus taxes/fines, and put him on the next plane to Guatemala. The entire INS and Immigration system in this country right now is completely screwed. No one wants to fix it, either, which is sad.
It's a myth we (yes, also us guys in Europe) propagate. Freedom™ and democracy™, and filled supermarket shelves for all. No wonder naive citizens in Communist countries get themselves killed in protests; no wonder illegals from developing countries get themselves killed trying to get over here. Isn't this paradise after all? But when people live here for a while, the shine wears off: freedom™ means free to be exploited, democracy™ means you can say what you want but nobody cares. Filled supermarkets still want money to enjoy their brighly-labeled goods. If it sounds too good to be true... our Western Way Of Life™ was just commercial, and they got suckered by the sales pitch. Agreed, but that's not the point I was making. I was saying that if he had paid and therefore accessed those services, the US economy would actualy have been worse off. I agree with the principle, but i wouldn't want to argue the point on economics. I doubt that you would have all your money confiscated.
I didn't say I wasn't crying over the ticket, I said nobody else was crying for poor little lawbreaking me. The American Dream is alive and well. Anyone willing to go through the PROCESS and WORK for what they want can acheive greatness. This guy had the work part down, he just missed the process. Most Americans know the process, they just aren't willing to do the work. Same way with democracy. It requires We the People paying attention and holding the polititians accountable for thier words. Both sides of the aisle have forgotten that required effort.
People keep mentioning the fact that he never learned English. Let me remind you there Engilsh is NOT the official language of the United States, and is indeed a minority language in many areas of the country. As this gentleman demonstrates, it's quite possible to live a productive life in the US while never learning English, and there is no legal or even practical requirement to do so.
